MONROE, La. (KNOE) – One of the world’s most respected airlines took off for its first passenger flight on June 17, 1929. Delta Airlines flew from Dallas, Texas to Jackson, Mississippi with stops in Shreveport and Monroe. It was the first time any commercial airline had flown that route.
Delta was known as Delta Air Service in 1929. J.D. “Johnny” Howe flew the Travel Air S-6000-B single-engine plane. It had an enclosed cabin with capacity for a pilot and up to five passengers.
John S. Fox was Delta’s operations manager. He was also the first passenger, since Delta did not announce the service until that day. The company had kept their plans secret so they could launch their service before any competitor.
In Jackson, Mayor Walter A. Scott and several other dignitaries met the inaugural flight. They hosted a banquet later that evening.
The initial schedule was three eastbound flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The westbound flights were Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The flights took around five hours one-way. Delta charged $47.25 for a one-way ticket, $90 for round trip.
Delta Air Service maintained its headquarters in Monroe, Louisiana until it moved to Atlanta, Georgia on March 1, 1941.
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